Ukraine on Friday rejected Russia's offer to cut natural gas prices by 10 percent, saying the fuel would still be too expensive, a move indicating no solution is in sight to a long dispute that has unnerved European gas consumers. Ukraine, which relies heavily on imported Russian gas for its own needs and also tranships the bulk of Russia's gas exports to Europe through pipelines crossing its territory, has long sought to negotiate a lower price.
Ukraine, which is paying $416 per thousand cubic metres of gas in the first quarter of this year, considers $250 to be a fairer price. After failing to secure a new gas deal last year, Kiev has said it would cut gas imports by a third in 2012 to 27 billion cubic metres. According to media reports that have not been confirmed officially, Moscow offered Kiev a 10-percent price discount this month in exchange for sticking to previously agreed import volumes. On Friday, a spokesman for Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said such an offer did not interest Ukraine. "The prime minister's position is that we don't need a discount, we need a fair price," spokesman Vitaly Lukyanenko said.
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